The Houston Astros tied up the ALCS at 2 on Thursday night after routing the Rangers 10-3. The Astros definitely gave up some loud outs against Texas, but in the end, the bullpen was able to hold it down. After two poor offensive showings to begin the ALCS, Houston has scored 18 runs combined in Globe Life Field in Games 3 and 4. There is no such thing as home field advantage between these two teams. Texas has been elite in Minute Maid Park, while Houston has been just as effective in Globe Life Field.
W: Ryne Stanek (1-0) L: Dane Dunning (1-1)
Jose Urquidy, Astros:
Starter Jose Urquidy came into this game coming off of a solid performance against Minnesota in the ALDS. However, his big issue in that game was the home run ball. Urquidy gave up 2 dingers in 5.2 innings at Target Field. This problem followed Urquidy to Game 4 of the ALCS, where the 28-year-old gave up another 2 home runs in his 2.1 innings of work.
Urquidy gave up 3 earned runs in his outing Thursday night, 2 of those runs coming off of solo home runs. Not only this, but Urquidy also added 5 hits and a walk to that poor statline. Urquidy simply had faulty command in regards to his pitches. It was a bold strategy throwing a high and in changeup to Adolis Garcia, and it didn’t work at all. Garcia crushed a home run to left field with an exit velocity of 100.6 MPH.
Houston’s rotation has been taking a beating after Framber Valdez’s early struggles. If Jose Urquidy suffers the same issues, the Astros could be in major trouble in regards to the starters.
Andrew Heaney, Rangers:
Andrew Heaney’s time with the Los Angeles Angels made him heavily familiar with the Houston Astros. Heaney has made 15 career regular season starts against the Astros, posting a 3.37 ERA against Houston in those 15 games. While a 3.37 ERA is solid, the Astros are very familiar with Heaney. As a result of this familiarity, Heaney has been hurt a lot by the Astros’ third baseman Alex Bregman. Bregman is batting .314 with a .780 OPS against Heaney in his career.
The 32-year-old southpaw started off the game very poorly. The first four Astros registered hits off Heaney, with two of those going for extra bases. Before Heaney got his first out of the game, the Astros’ tallied 3 runs. Heaney finished his night going 0.2 innings, yielding 4 hits and 3 earned runs and a walk.
Heaney is rather inconsistent. He began his postseason against Baltimore and he gave up only 1 earned run over his 3.2 IP. On Thursday night, he gave up 3 runs over 0.2 frames. His consistency is in high demand for a Texas rotation that has lacked a SP3 to assist Jordan Montgomery and Nathan Eovaldi.
Offensive Breakdown, Astros:
The Astros’ offence is scorching hot.
While Kyle Tucker has continued his struggles in the postseason, Jose Altuve has completely rebounded from his problems in the 2023 playoffs. Altuve added another 3 hits Thursday night, increasing his 2023 postseason OPS to .806. Houston started off the way they intended to. The Astros got to Heaney early, with Jose Altuve and Mauricio Dubon getting on for Alex Bregman. Bregman smashed a 2-run triple to deep right field to give Houston the early 2-0 lead. Superstar Yordan Alvarez drove Bregman in to extend the lead to 3-0 in the first inning.
Fast forward to the 4th frame where the Astros loaded the bases to begin the inning. Yordan Alvarez came up with one out and recorded an RBI through a sacrifice fly. This sacrifice fly gave Houston the lead 4-3. The next batter, Jose Abreu, stepped up to the dish and unloaded on a 91.4 MPH fastball from Cody Bradford. This 438 FT dinger from Abreu broke the game wide open, making the score 7-3.
In the seventh inning, Chas McCormick crushed a low-and-in slider from Will Smith to left field to make the score 9-3. Yordan Alvarez added another run through an RBI single in the 8th inning and that was all Houston needed. The Astros’ offence continued its rampage in Globe Life Field and led Houston to their Game 4 victory.
Offensive Breakdown, Rangers:
When the pitching staff gives up 10 runs, there really isn’t much the offence can do.
The Rangers’ offence was hanging right with Houston in the early stages of this game. After Houston scored 3 runs in the first inning, the Rangers scored 2 in the bottom of the second. These two runs came on an Adolis Garcia solo shot and a Josh Jung sacrifice fly. In the third inning, shortstop Corey Seager crushed a 103.3 MPH rocket to deep centre field to tie the game at 3.
The Rangers were barrelling many balls up, but they rarely dropped for base hits. The most frustrating case came in the bottom of the fifth inning. Marcus Semien and Leody Taveras led off the inning with two singles. Corey Seager came up against Hunter Brown. Seager smashed a line drive at 108.6 MPH straight to Jose Abreu’s glove. Abreu caught the liner on the fly and Semien was doubled off at first. Then, Evan Carter came up to the plate and roped a 106 MPH liner to deep centre field. However, Mauricio Dubon made a stunning run-saving catch to keep the game at 7-3.
Texas hasn’t necessarily been poor during the ALCS games in Globe Life Field. Houston’s offence has just been that impressive. Texas will have to outslug Houston if they want to take the lead in the series in Game 5.
Top Performers, Astros:
Jose Altuve (2B) – 3-4, 3 Runs, BB
Mauricio Dubon (CF) – 2-5, 2 Runs
Alex Bregman (3B) – 1-3, Run, 2 RBI, 2 BB
Jose Abreu (1B) – 1-3, 2 Runs, HR, 3 RBI, 2 BB, SB
Chas McCormick (LF) – 1-4, Run, HR, 2 RBI, BB
Hunter Brown (RP) – 3.0 IP, 2 Hits, 0 ER, 2 K’s
Phil Maton (RP) – 2.0 IP, Hit, 0 ER, 2 K’s
Top Performers, Rangers:
Corey Seager (SS) – 2-4, Run, HR, RBI
Adolis Garcia (RF) – 2-4, Run, HR, RBI
Leody Taveras (CF) – 1-3
Chris Stratton (RP) – 1.2 IP, 2 K’s, BB
Game 5 of this battle of Texas begins on Friday, October 20 at 5:07 PM EST. 40-year-old Justin Verlander takes the mound for Houston while breakout pitcher Jordan Montgomery will get the ball for the Rangers. Houston will look to continue dominating at Globe Life Field while the Rangers look to regain their lead with a win in front of their home crowd.
(AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)